Four Thousand Years
by Strawbaby909
Summary: After four thousand long years of life, China finds himself approaching the end. With their fellow country near death, everyone has been mourning. Especially Japan. In an effort to be the perfect little brother China always saw him as, Japan is motivated to heal China with the help of his siblings. Patience, love, and time is needed to heal what four thousand years has damaged.
1. Chapter 1

It came with no warning.

How was China himself supposed to predict his life was beginning to come to an end.

Four thousand years he spent fighting strong against every war and natural disaster life threw at him.

Yet here he was sitting in a world conference, feeling his heart slowly come to a stop.

He woke up with backache and slight fever but assumed it was nothing, brushing it off to get a cup of morning tea and to get to the meeting as soon as possible. It was always nothing, all the pain he felt. Nothing.

_Thump thump. Thump thump._

Just a minute ago it sounded like just a normal heart beat.

_Thump thump…Thump. _

It began to skip.

_Thump…Thump…._

His poor old heart was coming to a stop, unbelievably and un-thinkably at the second.

He's been alive for centuries with no knowledge of what even happens do a dying country despite seeing the great empires around him die down and fade.

The meeting went on as China was having his final moments. Should he say something? Should he speak?

_"Four thousand years…And it's finally come to this" _China thought to himself. He closed his eyes in pain, this drew Britain's attention and he excused America's talking.

"China, are you feeling alright?" The englishmen asked.

All the eyes of the countries turned the old man.

He forced the slits of his eyes to open and look at everything with an unfortunate face of poor agony and to his displeasure he received heartbreaking displays of concern.

He didn't even notice how deeply and forcibly he was breathing, his lungs crying out for air.

"China..?" Japan timidly asked. Never before in his life has China seen Japan look so sad.

"I-I think something's wrong…" China managed to choke out. He put his heart up to his chest and he felt it…The last remaining attempt at pumping blood into his body…

_…Thump….._

With that, China found himself tumbling to the cold hard floor. It was quick and fast.

He only got a glimpse of the legs of the other countries running towards his aid in a blurry flash, then the best was black.

…

A little make-shift bed was made for China using a futon Japan had brought over and America's jacket as a pillow, that was all they could work with.

Most of the countries evacuated the room to give China some space. France stayed by China's side to check up on his condition.

"Alright, he's in an extreme critical condition and we can't move him just yet" Britain announced to everyone "we'll just have to do our best with what we have here. If his fever goes down we can take him back home".

"Uh, Britain…" Italy raised his hand to speak "what exactly happened to China?"

"I don't know, but whatever it is it surly isn't good" Britain responded back sharply.

"No, I understand it isn't good I just want to know because back then this tended to happen to the nations who were near death" Italy replied "due to poor government and being to large, my grandpa was really sick until the day he fell".

"Bullocks, I know what it's like to be near death you idiot! I've had the black plague too" Britain snapped back, visibly fuming "what concerns me is that this is the 21st century! Why on earth is China near death?".

"Cause he's old?" America suggested.

"We're all old America…" Britain sighed.

"But China's like way old, dude. Maybe he's just wearing down" America sounded surprisingly serious about his comment.

"Due to being the mainstream production country he's had a lot of problems with pollution" Germany added "let's not forget the Chinese have been working on that land for ages. Maybe it's just finally giving up and drying out".

"I'm going to check the news" Britain rushed back into the room China was occupying, France soon came out.

"Ah France, how is our comrade doing?" Russia asked.

"Poor little thing is just barley hanging in there" France told them, he was rubbing his arms in a form of comfort as he stared down at the floor.

Japan hated this conversation.

He just inwardly despised the idea of China dying.

He was angered at how many suggestions everyone made that would be the source to China's own demise.

Sure he was annoying and was out-dated when it came to the 21st century customs and tried way to hard to be 'hip' and become friendly with the countries he once raised…But never the less this was the country that pulled him out of the bamboo forest and raised him, who tried his hardest to protect him and give him all he could, the one who watched him grow up and leave but still feeling proud despite his obvious loneliness.

"Oh, by the way Japan. He's calling for you" France interrupted his thoughts.

Japan looked up in shock, he didn't expect to hear that at all.

"He wants me?" Japan questioned.

"Oui, he's whining like an abandoned little puppy. He's just barley conscious though so just…Be there for him" France said.

Japan got up and pushed through the double doors to the meeting room.

Britain was knelt down next to where China lay in an awkward position. He seemed nervous, almost as if he had no idea how to comfort a sick person.

He took one quick look at Japan and his eyes darted back down to the Chinese boy.

"Hey China" Britain called out softly "Japan's here. Your little brother is here to see you".

The englishman stood up and took the laptop he was working on then headed for the door, "i'll leave him to you and i'll check the news outside".

Japan slowly approached China.

His face was red and a horrible expression of pure pain was drawn onto his face. His silky black hair was taken out of it's pony tail and allowed his locks to lay sprawled on America's jacket.

As he felt China's forehead it was easy to tell it was burning from fever.

Horrible, this was the sight of a dying country.

Something Japan himself has not seen for such a long, long time.

China took in a deep and raspy breath as he just barley opened his eyes to look at Japan. It was as if he recognized him by his touch.

"J-Japan…Little brother…" he whispered in pain, tears filled in his already hazy eyes "why is this happening…".

"I don't know, but you just need to stay strong like you always do" Japan told him.

"I can't!" China sobbed out, he seemed to have lost most of his voice because his cry was barley loud enough to be heard. "I give up…I can't do it anymore…".

"China, you need to calm down. Your only going to make it worse" Japan urged him "just relax…Everything is going to be okay".

But Japan wasn't even certain…

"Japan…I love you, my little brother. I love you and Taiwan and Hong K-Kong…And South Korea" China rasped out "It was nice watching you grow up even though you all were q-quite difficult at times…But watching you go…I just-"

Poor China broke out into sobs again leading Japan to calm him down by gently petting his hair and shushing him to be quite.

"I don't even know if you love me anymore" China cried in as much agony as he could in his weak state.

Japan was lost at how to even respond.

"I'm always ignored…F-Forgotten. I tried my best, I gave you all I could offer and you all…Left…You left"

"China…" Japan sighed, in the inside he was screaming at himself _you idiot, comfort him! Who cares if he was hypocritical and too loud and embarrassing he's your brother and he raised you!_

Words couldn't come out.

"I-If this is really the end…Japan….Tell your sibling that I love all of you. Especially you Japan. I couldn't n-never love you more" China's voice was a hoarse whisper, all strength left in him was slipping away.

He's eye lids closed and let out the few remaining tears from his eyes, they rolled down his checks slowly then dripped off his chin and onto his pale color bone.

China was silent.

Japan nearly died himself in panic that China had let out his final last words but was thankfully relieved by the rise and fall of China's chest.

Japan himself found tears forming in his eyes, it was a rare occurrence. Was he crying because he pitied China or because he felt like a terrible brother…Or was it because as much as he hated it, he didn't want China to go.

What was important was to clear his mind and leave the room.

Germany and Italy paid immediate attention to his tearful face.

"Japan?" Italy questioned in concern.

"I uh, need a phone" Japan said "I need to call my siblings".


	2. Chapter 2

"You say you have to call your siblings?" Britain confirmed.

Japan nodded in response, "Yes. Namely the one who were raised with me. I'll call Taiwan first, then Hong Kong…I'll have to figure out a different approach for South Korea".

"You think it's that bad?" Italy asked sadly.

Japan nodded yet again.

"No more questions" Germany ordered as he stood up, "I'll go get you a phone".

France said on the floor against the wall on Britain's laptop scrolling away at whatever online article he had, "it says here that there is a high pollution level in the air for China…It hasn't cleared yet at all".

"Are the people okay?" Canada asked in concern as he sat down next to France to see for himself.

"Says there are thousands left dead…My gosh, how did he not know!" France exclaimed, the shock in his voice hid a hint of concern.

"We invited him to join us in our G8 meeting, right? He said he wanted to do his own thing from now on but we urged him to try it out" America answered "he's been sleeping in a lot later these days especially with his timezone. He probably got up too early to notice".

"America is right, besides he probably thought the morning fog was like every other morning" Russia added.

"That only makes things worse, should we tell him?" France piped in.

"He'll find out soon enough unfortunately" Britain shooed him off "Germany have you found the phone yet!".

"Ja, here" Germany came back through the right hallway and handed the phone to Japan.

As Japan typed in Taiwan's number the other countries began to argue.

"We should just boy cut the fucking smog!"

"America, boycotting doesn't work that way!"

"We shoved your tea in the harbor and that worked"

"BLOODY DAMMIT DON'T BRING THAT UP!".

Japan urged them to be quiet by angrily waving his hands back and forth, it was a technique that he picked up from Italy and his brother. Hand language was useful for silently expressing yourself.

Britain and America seized their conversation and quietly apologized to each other as Japan waited for the phone to quit ringing.

_"Nǐ hǎo!" _the girl's sweet voice answered the phone.

"Kon'nichiwa" Japan answered in his own native language so she'd know who it was.

_"Ah Japan! how are you? What are you calling me for?"._

"Well you see…It's about China".

The mood in the room dropped and France caught on immediately, "come on, mon cher" he grabbed Canada's arm as he lead him and guided the others into a different hallway.

_"Oh teacher? What did he do this time?" _

"He…"

For once in his life Japan couldn't think up a calm response. He could already feel the sad crack in his voice about to come out as he explained the predicament.

He was their older brother too, if anything, China would want him to be strong and brave for him and take care of his younger siblings. He found that strength China found in him nowhere to be seen.

"He's…"

Japan tried again but found the effort useless and yet again failed to complete his sentence.

_"What's wrong?" _Taiwan asked, growing concerned.

He blew it, now there was no way he could explain it calmly.

"He's dying" Japan finally admitted.

The other line was silent.

"Taiwan, he's dying" Japan repeated himself incase she was too in shock to process.

_"Do the other's know?" _his sister asked in a surprisingly calm voice.

"No…Your the first one I called".

_"I'll take care of things with South Korea for you, just give me more details"_

Japan let out a sigh of relief, the last thing he wanted to do was hear South Korea's reaction to their older brother's slow demise.

"Thank you so much Taiwan. China's morning fog this morning is extremely thick and hasn't gone away. Apparently, people are dropping dead left and right. We fear this is it for China, the pollution from his factories is just too much, it's ruining his land and air".

_"…Okay, thank you. I'll go call South Korea and you can call Hong Kong, then we'll all meet over to where you are". _

"I'm at America's home. I'll…See you soon. I'll keep China in reality as much as I can but he already seems too far gone".

_"Thank you Japan, stay strong. I'll see you soon". _

The phone call ended and Japan let out a deep breath, the pain and tears he was containing just spilt out.

"You can come back in now" he announced towards the countries in the hallway. Slowly they all piled back in and Italy rushed up to hug him.

Instead of pushing him off like he'd normally do, he accepted all the comfort he could.

"I'm going to call Hong Kong in the room with China, you can join in with me if you'd like. I feel more confident that I can contain myself" Japan told them.

"Mon ami…" France put a protective hand on his shoulder, "you don't need to contain yourself. China is someone you really care about…China is someone we all care about".

He bushed a hand through his long blonde locks and let out a sad smile along with a deep exhale, "let's cry out our hearts to its extent. I know we all have at one point in history".

Italy immediately related while the others looked back into their memories.

"It may not have been another country, but there's been some person raped up in history that you just didn't want to see go" France said, "and alas our friend China is becoming one of those people".

"You can't give up on him just yet" Russia spoke out "why are we all saying goodbye when he's still fighting?"

"He's right!" Britain spoke out, he turned to the Frenchmen beside him and gave a hasty apology. "N-Not to pick a fight with you, but we shouldn't be treating China like he's already dead. It's not hopeless at all we just have to believe in him!".

"Wow old man, your sure getting excited at the thought of magic and believing" America laughed, he patted Japan's back rather roughly as he chuckled. "What everyone said was important but let's just agree to believe in ol' China and enjoy him while he's still up and kicking".

Everyone agreed and Japan did too with much happiness.

Inside the room China had woke up again and basically started talking to himself. He acted almost like a child. He begged for his hand to be held which Russia and America agreed to as they sat down at both his sides holding his cold, pale hands to warm them up.

Even though China's eyes were still closed he continued to rant with surprisingly a lot of energy in his weak state.

"M-My land used to be amazing. W-We c-could grown any plant, a-any grain. We could make anything" he cried out sadly "w-what went wrong…".

"Too much reproducing" Russia answered him honestly "you ran yourself dry, your such a little sunflower and it was too much, da?".

"Ah, that's mostly my fault…" America admitted "I do buy a lot from you guys".

"A-America gives us money…" China spoke as if he didn't even know America was there "America is good….I-I think".

America giggled and Russia leaned over to hear more.

"What about Russia" he asked.

"Russia's good too. A bit scary…But good".

"heh, at least he only said a bit" America chuckled "okay dude, what about Britain?".

"Stop asking him questions and let him relax!" Britain shouted from across the room, he turned to France and sighed"should those two really be watching after him?".

"We could switch them out if it's really bugging you" France told him "but I think America and Russia are best for now".

"Ah, whatever I'm at least going to keep an extra eye on him until Japan's siblings get here" as Britain left to join Russia and America, Japan finally got in touch with Hong Kong after dialing his number five times.

_"Lei Ho, what is it? I am kinda busy right now!" _

"Where have you been, I've called five times!" Japan lectured angrily at his brother.

_"whoa, Japan calm down. What is the matter?" _

"I wish there was a better way to put this but…China is dying, Hong kong".

_"T-Teacher's dying?" _

Japan could just sense the pain in his voice, but he continued to explain. "Yes, and he really needs you and our other siblings to be here for him".

_"H-How did that even happen? Like, Is he injured? Is he even conscious?" _Hong Kong quickly went into panic.

"He's technically not injured and right now he's semiconscious. He's been talking to us but I don't know if he really knows we're here".

_"Okay…Okay, I'm going to come over soon. Where are you, do Taiwan and South Korea know". _

"Yes they do, and I'm at America's home. I'll see you soon okay, stand strong".

Japan hung up before he could hear another saddened word come from Hong Kong's mouth.

Now that he was finished he could ask the question that was nagging him in the back of his head, "how's his temperature now?".

Britain just finished checking the thermometer and explained, "it's 103 degrees, he's at least half dead by now but he keeps telling me he's cold".

"Keep him wrapped in the blanket, if he says he's cold then it's best to keep him as warm as possible"

"But-"

"We don't want him to get shivers, that will just make everything worse" Japan ended the conversation firmly.

"A-Alrighty then" Britain stuttered, never before had he had such an intense argument with Japan. Come to think of it, Japan rarely started arguments. Usually he'd use his old 'sense the mood and refrain from speaking' technique, something about their current situation has changed him.

Japan sat down besides China who actually opened up his eyes to see him again.

China smiled as brightly as his strength allowed him, bring quite a bright big smile onto Japan's.

"Hēi wǒ de xiǎo xiōngdì…" China whispered to him in Chinese.

To be honest Japan didn't know much Chinese himself but he seemed to have picked up on what China was trying to tell him.

He held his brother's hands, they waited and waited for their siblings.


	3. Chapter 3

The room was filled with uncomfortable silence.

Japan gently rubbed his thumb against China's knuckles in a repetitive pattern. Britain kept his eye on the news to see if the pollution in China changed at all.

Italy surprisingly repressed his usual loud and hyper behavior, he knew all too well the pain of being with a dying nation.

The other nations were simply sensing the mood around them.

"Mr. America" a man announced as he poked his head through the door, America stood out of his seat to talk to him in private. After a few seconds of muffled talking leaning against the door step, America turned back and said "Japan, he said a car turned up our driveway. I think it might be one of your siblings".

"Thank you, America" Japan replied, he stood and awoke his sleeping legs by walking as quickly as he could out the door.

Without a surprise, It was Taiwan who brought South Korea along with him. Just as he went out to great them, Hong Kong's car pulled up.

"How's teacher!' He yelled as he slammed the door without even parking properly.

"I was just telling these two, please calm down" Japan said as the siblings crowded around to listen, "He's um…Well, he's alive".

"Well, _that's _reassuring" Taiwan said rather sarcastically.

"I have no idea what's going to happen, wether he's going to live or not" Japan explained "what we have to do now is just be there with him and his his fever goes down we can take him home".

They rushed back in and South Korea already made his way to his big brother.

"Old man!" Hong kong shouted as he recognized his 'other' big brother Britain.

"Oh, right. I forgot you two were related for a second" Britain scratched his head. He picked up his laptop and gently ruffled Hong Kong's hair as he left, "I'll leave you all time to yourself to take care of the other old man. Alright?".

"Yeah yeah" Hong kong mumbled, shooing the englishmen away despite him already leaving.

One by one the other nations left to give them personal time with China.

South Korea was already in full out sobs next to China, as if their brother had already passed.

"Be more quiet Korea, like, your gonna wake him up" Taiwan ranted, but a small and weak noise already came out of the man laying in a mess of sheets.

"I don't mind…I really wanted to see you all anyway" he laughed light-heartedly.

South Korea took his arm and held it tight, the movement was so sudden China almost shot up in shock.

"Aniki, please don't die! I love you what am I going to do without you!".

Japan, Taiwan, and Hong Kong were quite used to South Korea's dramatic behavior and were unfazed yet China gave the most motherly hug he could offer to South Korea.

He was able to push himself into a sitting position and wrap is weak arms around his little sibling.

South Korea's sobs were silenced by his brother's action, slowly he wrapped his own arms around China's waist and after a full minute of hugging they realized that China had passed out.

"I think…" Hong Kong began to speak "He fell asleep".

"Okay, carefully now Korea" Taiwan ordered him "set him down slowly".

In a very slow manor, South Korea lay China back down on the futon using the hand wrapped gently around his waist as support. Soon after he recoiled his hand from under the Chinese man's back. Taiwan draped the blankets back over China and then he was safely bundled up yet again.

Biting her lip, Taiwan asked "he's going to wake up again right? We can talk to him soon?".

"Yes, he comes in and out of consciousness frequently. He just lost a lot of energy sitting up to hug Korea" Japan answered.

South Korea looked down sadly, "He lost consciousness from sitting up…That doesn't sound good at all".

"I'm not going to lie to you, it isn't" Japan agreed "but he's strong, he can make it".

"So now that we're all here, what do we do?" Taiwan asked.

"Take care of him, be there for him" Japan said "that's the least we can do for right now".

The asian countries silenced themselves at sat down around their older brother.

It was quite ironic, how the Chinese man once cared for them and sat by their bedside when they were ill or had a nightmare. Now vice-versa, here he lay at his probable final moments and to think, none of them really had the chance to repay China for his unconditional love even when they rejected him.

Just be there for him now, that's all they could do.


End file.
